Second round complete, leaving four teams left to battle for Lord Stanleys Sacred cup. Naturally the four teams remaining are probably not what many were anticipating, likely the case in the NHL playoffs. If you watched a game in the regular season and tuned into some of these playoff games you would think you’re watching a different sport. Fearless men going to battle on a frozen sheet. Using the ice as their canvas to make modern day art in the purest form possible. Its euphoric, but enough Tom Foolery.
Eastern Conference Final- Prince of Wales Trophy- Awarded to Eastern Conference Champs since 1994
– Hurricanes VS Bruins
The Canes do this weird thing were they never make the playoffs but when they do they go on a run, prior to this year they made the playoffs 3 other times since the 2002 season. All three times they made it to the conference finals, twice they made the cup final, and in 2005-2006 they won the whole thing. Very random.. But fun to watch, Though this shouldn’t be a surprise really to anyone that they are here. Since January 1st they had 62 pts, good for 3rd in the league in that time period, they are playing good hockey when it matters. They also have playoff vets like Jordan Staal and Mr.Playoffs Justin Williams who has literal ice in his veins this time of year to compliment a very young and skilled core, an underrated backend, and a very good tandem in the crease. Should be fun to watch and see what kind of stupid shit their marketing department comes up with as well. The big body Michael Ferland is out with injury listed day to day, hopefully he is inserted into the lineup and throws the big body around and makes some noise in this series.
Boston is an absolute Wagon and have been for years. I thought that Boston was going to be on the decline like we have seen with other perennial powerhouses like Chicago, and LA due to a somewhat aging core. But I was certainly wrong, the bruins are nasty and balance high end skill with effective depth that gives them a full roster of tools to implement come playoff time. They tied for 2nd overall in the NHL this season, pretty quietly in fact. With so much hype on teams like the Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay the Bruins essentially just kept rolling and playing good hockey under the radar, and in certain Bruins style added that extra grit level to their game come playoffs that makes them so hard to play against. Everyone on planet earth hates Brad Marchand and he is loving it, taking the spotlight off of his teammates and letting them perform. If you hate him thats fine but don’t tell me he is not one of the most effective players in the game of hockey today. Zdeno Chara looks like hes dragging a piano around the ice out there but its still fun to see this guy playing in the game today since he has been a legend for so long, this could be his last chance at Stanleys Mug. The Bruins have really done a great job maintaining the core they have had for the past decade while adding the perfect pieces at the right time looking like geniusus right now adding Johannson & Coyle at the deadline.
Hops Pick Bruins in 6.
Western Conference- Clarence S. Campbell Bowl – Awarded to Western Conference Champs since 1994
St.Louis vs San Jose
San Jose.. What a squad. Loaded top to bottom, they have been relevant for years but have not been able to seal the deal. Only several years removed from a devastating loss in the Stanley Cup finals the Sharks are back with a better more experienced team. At the end of the day, they have BIG DADDY Joe Thornton and his seductive beard roaming the third line at centre, this guy is cream of the crop and we should all yearn for him to win a Stanley Cup before he retires. They also have a disgusting D-core that is hilarious to watch, I love watching this team play. If you havent watched much hockey this year, stay up for a late game and watch these guys they are the real deal, should make for a classic series.
St. Louis, a team that was literally in last place at Christmas time has climbed its way into the playoffs and on through to the Western Conference Final. Insanity, but they are not some scrub club. While missing the playoffs this past season the blues have been a good team for years but have never made it amount too much. The Sharks beat the Blues in the 2016 west final, this ties their furthest post season stretch since the turn of the century. Hometown hero Pat Maroon punched their ticket in game 7 OT in dramatic fashion, they have a pretty balanced and deadly top 6 when they are clicking and are led by a very large and steady back end. Do not sleep on the St. Louis blues, it would be great to see them finally win a Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, or at least even make the final. Because since being founded in 1967, they have yet to do so…..
Hops Pick- Sharks in 6
Not at all the series we anticipated on watching but this will be a deadly conference final on both sides. Let’s hope the craziness of the 2019 playoffs continues, I will provide further updates as the series roll on. Enjoy yourselves, What an exciting time of year friends. Sadly the second round is over and the NBA is coming close to closing out round 2 as well so we wont be watching 9 hours of playoff sports every night anymore. Tragic, but the snow did just finally melt in Canada so maybe I’ll just try going outside a bit. We will catch up soon folks,
Hoppsy